Down the Long, Narrow Road
by squibbler
Summary: They were supposed to wait. Wait for Sheppard and the other to get back with help. But when the Wraith showed up, it seemed like everything had gone to hell.


_**Stargate Atlantis**_

_**The Long, Narrow Road**_

**_Squibbler_**

Summary: They were supposed to wait. Wait for Sheppard and the others to come and get them. But when the Wraith showed up, it seemed like all hell had broken loose.

Author's Notes: Yes, yes, I know. Finish my first story! Don't worry, I'll update my other story soon. I couldn't help myself, though, when I came up with this idea while reading some of my favorite author's fanfics. In this story, it's a team fanfic (complete with Beckett), and Rodney and Carson are stuck in the wilderness with the wraith as well as the Genii chasing after them. Rodney and Carson accidently get split up, and when they do things go worse from there on. (Worse than they were already, I mean.) So, with two enemies trapped on either side of Rodney, and a village to save as well-will he manage to stay alive long enough for Sheppard and the others to rescue him?

Season: Towards the end of Season Two. Near the beginning of Season three.

Feedback: Please. I'm in desperete need of it! Wonderful fans, review!

Chapter 1:

"Stay here, Rodney. I want you to stay here with Carson, and look after these villagers. If anything goes wrong, just wait it out! Don't do anything stupid." Sheppard had ordered, before leaving with Telya and Ronan in the jumper. Rodney had complained, of course, about staying in a village that had absolutely _no_ protection from the Wraith. Carson didn't seem to worried by this, indeed he was so unaware of the possible threat, that he even said,

"Relax, Rodney. Nothing's going to go wrong!" Of course, that was before the wraith showed up, and he had been forced to hide all the people in a nearby cave. Rodney had gotten lost along the way, and Carson had assumingly gone with the villagers to the cave. Rodney was furious that he had to be the one that was lost out in the wilderness, with the wraith everywhere around him. Here he was, out in the woods, with no sign of anyone, and with a twisted ankle. At least, he was pretty sure it was twisted. It certainly hurt walking on it. He wouldn't be at all surprised if it _was_ twisted, seeing as how he had fallen down the stupid hill by tripping over a tree root.

He made it to the village about a few minutes later. He could here the wraith overhead, flying. he wondered if any were actually on the ground, but then didn't have to wonder as he saw a band of wraith appear out of nowhere. He dove behind a building, that he figured was the villagers 'bar'. He had caught a sign of some symbol or another hanging above the doorway. He drew his P-90 out, and clenched it tightly, feeling slightly reassured that he at least had some weapon on him. He listened closely to see if the wraith were heading his way.

He heard one wraith shout something in it's language, and then heard other wraith arguing with him. Rodney peeked his head out from behind the building and saw about six wraith standing around next to each other. One of the wraith looked his way, and he quickly hid again. He heard the wraith that had seen him shout something to his friends, and Rodney cursed. _Crap. _He scrambled to his feet, and quickly ran towards the other buildings he could see some of the wraith following at a dead run towards him. He cursed again, and took a left in an ally. He saw that it was a dead end, and quickly backed out of it. He saw that the wraith were closer, but they didn't have any weapons. _Weird. Why didn't they have stunners, like they usually do?_ He thought frantically, as he fired off some bullets at them. He heard one scream in agony, and smiled grimly. _One down, five to go. _He ran again, panting heavily. He made it to another building and saw that it was a blacksmith's shop. The people here were just barely discovering new technology. He scowled at a hammer, then shrugged and picked it up. He heard a wraith shout behind him. He twirled around, and flung the hammer as hard as he could at the wraith. It struck him right in the forehead, and he went down hard.

Rodney decided that waiting there for the other wraith wasn't a good idea. He quickly moved towards the backdoor, and ran towards the nearest building-a church. _Figures. Going to the Gods for protection again._ He thought bitterly. He paused for a minute to look around and see if the wraith were still following. _Nope. No sign of them. Thank God._ Was his ironic thought, as he quickly went into the church. He would've loved to sit on one of the benches, and sighed deeply. He couldn't afford a minute of sitting and resting. He had to keep moving. Find a safe place away from the wraith, where Sheppard could easily find him.

That would be more easily said than done. All the building's there weren't very safe wise. But there _was_ one where it sort of provided protection. It had steel bars, so that the wraith couldn't get in. And there was an underground library of sorts too. Perfect. He turned and started towards it, keeping a wary eye out for the wraith. He soon made it to the building, and saw that it was abandoned like most other places. Good. At least he didn't have to worry about protecting anyone just yet. He hoped that the wraith wouldn't do a door to door search. Then he would really be screwed.

Pushing open the old, wooden door he studied the inside of the building. It held some tables across it, and there was a sort of stage thing at the front where everyone would have a perfect view of it. He wondered if it was a hall, where all the villagers gathered to have fun. Shaking his head, he went towards where the underground shelter was. It was at the backside of the building, against the walls. He made there within a couple of minutes, and climbed into it. It was a bit dark, but he could handle dark. He would wait till night to see if the wraith were gone yet. And if they weren't, then he would just still stay until Sheppard and the others returned. _At least I don't have to worry about large spiders eating me._ He gave a chuckle at the thought. He leaned back against the wall, and closed his eyes-getting what little rest he could before he would have to start running again.

* * *

Carson Beckett was worried. Rodney had somehow managed to disappear from the large group that was heading up to the cave. He could just barely make out the village that was quite aways below them. He saw the cave ahead, and realized that there might be a tight squeeze with all the villagers in it. He swore under his breath, when he saw that the wraith were flying overhead. _At least the trees provided protection. And they would soon be in the cave too._ He thought grimly. He waited outside the cave to let everyone else get in first, keeping his gun out to make sure that the wraith didn't surpise them with an unexpected attack.

As he waited for everyone to get in, one of the woman stopped and came and stood next to him. He looked at her, a little puzzled, and thought that she couldn't be more than eighteen. When he started to ask her what she was doing, she just shook her head-appearently wanting silence. He frowned at her, but then turned back and continued watching over the villagers. He didn't mind her being next to him. In fact, it was rather comforting to see that someone was actually serious. The villagers were all talking in semi-loud tones, and they seemed to have no idea what the wraith could do to them. He wondered how this little girl would know something serious was going on, and figured that it must be obvious. With him and the gun, and looking around for his teammate, she probably just put two and two together. He looked at her again, and saw that her face was grim. Probably more than he was. At the moment.

He suddenly heard one of the darts fly ever closer to where they were going in. She shoved him into the cave, right after a man quickly jogged into it, and followed him into it. She pulled the handle of some rope that was tied to something, and Carson was surprised to see a large wooden door suddenly covering the entrance. She pulled another rope, but nothing happened. Frowning, he looked at her for an explanation. She just looked away, and headed over to where-most likely-her family was gathered. He shrugged, and stood by the entrance, still keeping guard.

He hoped that Colonel Sheppard could find them-before the bloody wraith do. He hoped that Rodney was alright, and that the lad wasn't getting into serious trouble. At least, no more than the trouble that he was in himself. With a sigh, he leaned against the cave wall, feeling the coolness of it. It seemed calming, somehow, and he closed his eyes-exhausted. He opened them again quickly, however. He couldn't afford to fall asleep. He had a village to protect. And he would do everything in his power to make sure that none of these people would get hurt.

_End Chapter 1_

Author's Note: Next update should be sometime next week.


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